Since first gaining fame with his role as Power Ranger Joel Rawlings, actor Keith Robinson has always been a force in the entertainment industry. With his current role as Dr. Ted Richardson on the hit soap “Beyond the Gates”, Robinson is adding more to his resume. However, as longtime fans know, he’s also one hell of a singer.
Robinson recently released the lead single “Forever Bae” from his upcoming album, “Love Episodic II. On his latest single, Robinson doesn’t just serenade his lover. He weaves a warm, slow-burning affirmation of eternal devotion that sounds like it’s been carved right out of the man’s heart and onto the track.
Robinson wrote the song with producer Jamezz Bon, who returns the favor in kind with a honeyed, classic soul backbone awash in smooth harmonies and earnest sincerity. “Forever Bae” is no gimmick. It’s a grown man unashamedly baring his heart in the most grown-man way possible.
Inspired in part by his performance as Dr. Ted Richardson on the soapy smash “Beyond the Gates” and in part by a real-life love story that the South Florida singer wanted to pay tribute to, “Forever Bae” blurs the line between fact and fiction, art imitating life with buttery falsettos and Sunday-morning sentiment. (“This is the beginning, this is our night / Mighta took a minute, but we got it right”) The opening lines set the tone for a mature, weathered romance that’s been through the wars and come out on the other side together.
Robinson’s voice is equal parts velvet and gravel, an instrument that speaks to decades of both heartache and devotion. The repetition of the lines “Now we are one…This is our forever, baby” could be some hackneyed radio slogan. Still, Robinson takes excellent care to give the words gravity, turning the hook into a mantra, a wedding vow wrapped up in satin and soul.
“Forever Bae” isn’t reinventing the wheel. It doesn’t need to. At its heart, R&B is still just about connection, and in a sea of disposable culture and fly-by-night romances, Keith Robinson reminds us that some things don’t change. Forever is still a possibility. Sometimes, it comes with a hook you can slow dance to.
Final Grade: B+
“Forever Bae” is available on all streaming platforms while “Love Episodic II” is due out in the fall.
For this week’s Second Listen Sunday, I want to revisit 2004 and highlight Romeo’s debut solo album, formerly of Immature. Titled “Food for Thought” and released on June 22nd, this project marked the singer’s change of name to Young Rome in an effort to distance himself from the youthful sound of his group, much like his bandmate Marques Houston had done a year earlier.
In the nineties, Hip-Hop reigned supreme, and every label CEO wanted a share of the lucrative R&B market. One strategy was to keep singers on their roster who could deliver catchy hooks, keeping everything in-house and saving money. Bad Boy had Carl Thomas, Death Row had Danny Boy, and Roc-A-Fella had Rell, our featured artist for this week’s Slow Jam Saturday
Growing up in the eighties, I was surrounded by incredibly talented male R&B singers who could deliver unforgettable love songs. Artists like Luther Vandross, Jeffrey Osborne, and Peabo Bryson dominated the airwaves, but Freddie Jackson was another voice that truly deserved recognition.